S moke S ignals
february 1, 2014
powwow cont
By Ron Karten,
Smoke Signals staff writer
SALEM — Intertribal coopera-
tion in preparing for this year’s
Gathering of Oregon’s First Na-
tions Powwow, “Standing Strong,”
was “phenomenal,” said Siobhan
Taylor, Public Affairs Director for
the Grand Ronde Tribe.
“There was such a good feeling
among Tribes this year,” Taylor
said of the sixth annual event held
Saturday, Jan. 25, inside the Salem
Pavilion at the Oregon State Fair
& Expo Center.
Taylor and her administrative
assistant, Chelsea Clark, took the
lead in preparing for the popular
event that has been cherished by
sponsoring Tribes since the first
one occurred in 2009. They also
found support from Tribal leaders
of the four participating western
Oregon Tribes that have hosted the
powwow every year.
The first powwow coincided with
Oregon’s 150th birthday celebra-
tion. The idea was to inform Or-
egonians that although Oregon was
turning 150, Tribes and their an-
cestors have lived in what became
Oregon since time immemorial. The
late January date remains symbolic
of that history since the powwow
occurs before Oregon’s birthday in
mid-February.
The event was planned only for
that first year to make the statement,
but the popularity of the event, which
has drawn as many as 5,000 attend-
ees, encouraged Tribes to make the
Gathering of Oregon’s First Nations
Powwow an annual event.
Participating Tribes this year
were the Confederated Tribes of
Grand Ronde, the Coquille Indian
Tribe, Confederated Tribes of Coos,
Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indi-
ans and the Cow Creek Band of
Umpqua Tribe of Indians.
Although the Confederated Tribes
of Siletz Indians of Oregon helped
Grand ronde Canoe Family dancers perform protocol at the sixth annual Gathering of Oregon’s First nations powwow
held at the Oregon state Fair & expo Center’s salem pavilion on saturday, Jan. 25.
sponsor the first few powwows,
Siletz has not participated as a
sponsor in recent years. Individual
members of the Tribe, however,
continued to support the event.
Siletz canoe carver Willy Towner
showed three of his canoes on the
floor of the Salem Pavilion. Two
previously carved canoes were of
western red cedar and the third
canoe, from a Sitka spruce, was
still being carved at the powwow.
It was one of many demonstrations
at the event.
Towner wore a red T-shirt that
read “Culture Over Politics,” a com-
ment on Siletz having backed out
Little Miss Grand ronde Kaleigha simi dances a jingle dress dance during the
sixth annual Gathering of Oregon’s First nations powwow held at the Oregon
state Fair & expo Center’s salem pavilion on saturday, Jan. 25.
of the event.
Friendliness among sponsoring
Tribes was evident to all in at-
tendance, estimated at 2,000 this
year.
As Grand Ronde Tribal Council
Chairman Reyn Leno said to the
crowd, “Welcome to the ceded lands
of the Grand Ronde, but wherever
(this powwow) is held, it’s always
about people coming together, In-
dian or non-Indian, to learn about
our cultures.”
That spirit of friendship was
seen among the different Tribes
represented at the head of this
year’s Grand Entry. Elder chiefs
from Siletz, Umatilla
and Warm Springs
participated in the 1
p.m. Grand Entry with
an Honor Guard made
up of veterans from the
four host Tribes. Tribal
Council representa-
tives from each Tribe
marched in by date of
their Tribe’s Restora-
tion.
Former Grand Ronde
Tribal Council mem-
ber, Vietnam-era Ma-
rine Corps veteran
and Tribal Elder Steve
Bobb Sr. carried an Ea-
gle staff during Grand
Entry.
“Tribal leadership
made a commitment
of time, money and re-
sources, and gave staff
encouragement and
support to work on the project that
took a year-long commitment to
preparations,” said Taylor.
photos by Michelle Alaimo
The growing success of Tribes in
regaining lost rights and territory
also may have been a catalyst for
the good feelings.
Ron Brainard, 72, current Tribal
chair and member of the Confeder-
ated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua
and Siuslaw Indians’ Tribal Coun-
cil for almost 20 years and a leader
in the development of the powwow,
reminisced about how far the Coos
Tribe has come during his years as
a Tribal leader.
He said that as far as he could
trace his family’s heritage, they
have all lived in Coos Bay, where
the Tribe is located.
He remembered how his great-
grandmother talked to the children
in the family. “We thought she was
just an old Indian woman telling
us stories, but it was our history
she was telling. It was not the way
they tell it in the history books,”
Brainard said.
Brainard said he anticipates re-
tirement from Tribal politics and
will not stand after his term ends
in April.
Highlights of the event, and there
were many, included the Grand
Ronde Canoe Family protocol and
hands-on cultural demonstrations
by all sponsoring Tribes, particu-
larly demonstrations for children.
Among the Grand Ronde demon-
strations and craft exhibits were
necklaces, carving, weaving and
jewelry. Education and culture spe-
cialists led by Cultural Education
and Outreach Program Manager
Kathy Cole had a number of books
on hand for people to enjoy learning